GARY NEVILLE has revealed his worst England memory after “all hell broke loose” with Paul Gascoigne.
The Manchester United legend had a few lows but mainly highs during his near 20-year career.
It is unsurprising, then, that his most awful memory occurred on international duty.
It came when then England manager Glenn Hoddle controversially opted to axe Paul Gascoigne from the 1998 World Cup squad.
It was a decision deemed “the greatest mistake in English football” by many including Neville, Paul Merson and Gary Lineker.
The day was even more unbearable for Phil Neville, who was also dropped for Graeme Le Saux at the last minute.
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Speaking on the Stick to Football Podcast, Neville said: “My worst memory was the day when Hoddle was telling everybody about whether they were in the squad.
“It’s a horrible feeling, but it was Phil Neville and Nicky Butt who got cut.
“I was in the room with Phil and Paul Scholes when suddenly, all hell broke loose with Paul Gascoigne.
“And I had never seen anything like it in my life, and I think it killed us as a team right at that moment because Gazza was so popular, and he was the energy.”
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The football pundit – who was 23 years old at the time – then went on to explain that the gaffer agreed for the team to have behind-closed-door drinks the night before in La Manga, Spain.
He added: “The next day was like D-Day. Glenn Roeder, who was one of Hoddle’s assistants, walked past Gazza at the pool and didn’t look at him properly.
“So Gazza jumps the queue, runs upstairs and goes straight in ahead of everyone into the room for his meeting with the manager.
“That’s where all hell breaks loose. He came out and smashed one of the doors, it was mayhem.”
Gascoigne is regarded as one of England’s most talented players but his run in the national team came to a sad end that year at just 31.
After his heroics at Euro 1996, his exclusion came as a shock to the nation.
The Tottenham and Newcastle legend had put in a series of good performances to help the Three Lions qualify for the 1998 campaign.
But after a series of pictures were published of him eating kebabs late at night just a week before the tournament, Hoddle was swayed into dropping him after concerns over his fitness.
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The football icon latter admitted in his autobiography that he kicked in the door, overturned a table and only just resisted his urges to hit Hoddle.
England made the last 16 in France, where they knocked out by Argentina on penalties after David Beckham had been sent off for kicking Diego Simeone.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
